Former NSB colonel escapes prosecution as accusations become untimely.
Laid-Back Take on a Taiwan Justice Saga
Let's dive into the latest twist in the lengthy saga of a former National Security Bureau (NSB) official, now going by Lucky Liu (劉冠軍). After a whopping 25 years on the run, our old friend can now breathe easy, as the Taipei District Court has officially dropped all charges against him for corruption.
The charges stemmed from allegations that Liu took off with NT$190 million (approximately US$6.12 million at today's exchange rate) earmarked for secret government operations back in the day. He took a nice little trip to China in September 2000, before being officially indicted on Nov. 12, 2003. The court eventually issued a warrant for his arrest on May 21, 2004.
Here's the tea on how the court came to this decision: Taiwanese law states that the statute of limitations for corruption charges is generally 20 years. But, when a suspect decides to play hard-to-get (read: evade justice), an extra five years gets tacked onto that original 20-year limit, totaling a 25-year window for prosecution. However, the countdown pauses during times when the defendant intentionally avoids legal proceedings, letting authorities have the full extended time to proceed with charges.
Problem is, the clock started ticking on the statute of limitations back in 1999, and it finally ran out on February 24th of this year. So, alas, the court's decision can be appealed, but as of now, Lucky Liu is off the hook.
But wait, there's more! In a bit of positive news for Taiwan's justice system, the authorities were able to recover a portion of the embezzled funds. In March 2023, about NT$129 million of the alleged stolen dough was returned. Authorities also seized and auctioned off shares previously owned by Lucky Liu to make it happen.
Just last year, a re-examination of Lucky Liu's case by the Taiwan High Prosecutors' Office revealed that he was suspected of surrendering to the Chinese government and engaging in espionage activities. Despite the dismissal of corruption charges, Lucky Liu is still wanted for the espionage case.
All in all, we've learned that Taiwan's statute of limitations for corruption charges is set under specific constraints, with an extension when someone tries to skedaddle. So, even though ignoring court summonses, skipped towns, and questionable associations won't save Lucky Liu from every kind of trouble, it did buy him some extra time, at least this time around.
- Lucky Liu's charges for corruption, dating back to embezzling NT$190 million, have been dropped due to the statute of limitations; however, the decision can be appealed.
- The limitation for corruption charges in Taiwan generally stands at 20 years, but this extends to 25 years when a suspect evades justice, as was the case with Lucky Liu.
- The recovery of a portion of the embezzled funds and the seizing of Lucky Liu's shares were positive developments for Taiwan's justice system, with about NT$129 million returned in March 2023.
- Despite the dismissal of corruption charges, Lucky Liu is still wanted for an espionage case suspected to have occurred as he surrendered to the Chinese government, highlighting the complexity and multifaceted nature of politics and crime-and-justice issues in general-news.
